Concession given for the construction of 5 hydropower plants (HPP) in Kaçinar area of Mirdita will be re-investigated by Lezha Prosecutor's Office, after the decision was taken by the Court, which gave the right to appeal to the residents.

The court rejected the request of the prosecution body that had decided to terminate the investigation in relation to the criminal proceedings registered by the SPAK for the criminal offenses "Abuse of duty" and "Forgery of documents", after the report was made by residents.

At the end of the court session, the residents welcomed the decision taken by Judge Artan Hajredinaj, considering it as a first victory of the battle that have started more than 3 years ago.

"It is a first victory, to return it and to highlight all the violations that have been done in the procedure of granting a concession for 5 hydropower plants in the area of ??Kaçinar. Suffice it to say that there are many violations in the concession file. The residents of Kaçinar were not questioned, the public hearings were not held, then there are continuous violations and falsifications", said Gjon Pjetri, resident of Kaçinar.

Residents say they are determined not to allow the construction of HPPs, which, according to them, destroy the entire area.

"There are 7 villages and we will go to the point that without being washed with blood, that river will not take anyone's water. The Municipality of Rrëshen has given them for their personal interests. The water is not taken, it was left to us by our father and grandfather and we will protect it until the blood ", stated Gjergj Dedaj, a resident of the area.

While an 89-year-old says that this concession is a pure robbery and theft of their property and assets.

"I turned 89 years old and I did not see so much theft, so much deception as our Municipality does to us, trying to rob us of our property. How did we leave them with work and we will not leave them with work either, until we disappear completely", proclaimed Ndrek Frroku, a resident of the area.

The decision of the Court of Lezha was not commented by the officials of the Municipality of Mirdita, who were present at the court session. The concession for the construction of 5 HPPs in the area of ??Kaçinar in Mirditë was given in 2018, but so far the company led by Ndue Shkurtin has not been allowed to start work by the residents, who have resisted, holding continuous protests.

However, the issue of construction of HPPs in the Kaçinar area reached the Lezha Court on 22 November. Following the criminal report in the SPAK of the residents of the area against the officials of the Municipality and the concessionaire, the Special Prosecution Against Crime and Corruption registered proceedings for the criminal offenses "Abuse of Duty" and "Forgery of documents", and the case was referred to the Lezha Prosecutor's Office.

From the investigations conducted, the local prosecution came to the conclusion that there are no elements of a criminal offense and sent the case for termination of investigations in court.

"The Lezha Prosecutor's Office has surprisingly requested to close the investigation because, according to them, there is no culprit in all the investigations and all the procedures for approving the concession and the environmental permit have been done in accordance with the law. These facts turn out to be untrue, as the official documents of the Albanian state, the National Council of Territorial Regulation, the Environment Agency and the Municipality of Mirdita, the area has been approved as a Natural Monument based on law 81 \ 2017", noted at that time lawyer Klidian Reçi .

While the lawyer Gjin Marku says that from SPAK the case was transferred to the Lezha Prosecutor's Office, precisely to help the mayor of Mirdita.

"It is not discussed that there are elements of a criminal offense, because previously this case was started by SPAK, but to help the mayor, they passed the criminal proceedings to the Lezha Prosecutor's Office. I must emphasize that even the Turks 500 years ago could not break Mirdita, and not 3 or 4 people from Saranda", stressed lawyer Gjin Marku.

The concession for the construction of 5 HPPs in the area of ??Kaçinar in Mirditë was given in 2018, but so far the company has not been allowed by the residents to start work.

Residents of 7 villages affected by these projects have held 16 protests, physically clashing with the police and representatives of the firm, and even burning their vehicles.